Arsenal Women etched their names deeper into football history on Saturday night, clinching the 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League title with a tense 1-0 victory over defending champions Barcelona in Lisbon.
Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius proved to be the match-winner, coming off the bench to fire home a decisive 74th-minute goal, sealing a landmark triumph for the Gunners and ending Barcelona’s dream of back-to-back European crowns.
The win marks Arsenal’s second Women’s Champions League title, their first since 2007, reaffirming their status as England’s most decorated women’s football club.
With this victory, they become the first English side ever to win eight matches in a single edition of the competition.
The road to Lisbon was anything but straightforward. Arsenal’s journey began in the first qualifying round back in September, overcoming Häcken and Rangers to earn their place in the group stage.
Under new manager Renee Slegers, who took over from Jonas Eidevall in October, the team topped a formidable group that included Bayern Munich, Juventus and Vålerenga.
The knockout rounds delivered even more drama. A stunning comeback against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals saw Arsenal overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit to win 3-2 on aggregate. That was followed by a dominant 5-3 aggregate victory over Lyon, including a resounding 4-1 away win.
Saturday’s final showcased Arsenal’s tactical discipline and resilience against a Barcelona side that had lifted three of the last four titles. Blackstenius’s poise and precision under pressure delivered a fitting end to a historic campaign.
Slegers’ triumph is historic in its own right—the first Dutch manager to win the Women’s Champions League, and only the third Dutch coach to claim a UEFA title in either the men’s or women’s game, following in the footsteps of Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard.
Celebrations are already underway, with a trophy parade and fan event scheduled at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, beginning at 10am in Armoury Square. The squad will lift the trophy once again at approximately 11:40am.
